So what exactly is the Gospel of Jesus? If we’re serious in our asking, there really isn’t anywhere else to look but scripture.

The Bible was written over a period of 2,000 years by 40 different authors on 3 continents. And yet it tells a unified story. The Bible doesn’t just contain stories, it is itself one big story - a meta-narrative. And that meta-narrative is all about God and us - the creation of, the fall of, the redemption of and the restoration of every created thing.

This story has a protagonist and his name is Jesus.

Jesus is the hero of the story. The rest of us are cast in supporting roles. That, at least to me, is good news in itself!

The meta-narrative is the story of salvation. The gospel, the story of Jesus, is the climax of this narrative. And the story of Jesus is very good news.

What is this good news?

That God is near.That “he is not far from each one of us.” (Acts 17:27b)That he has “heard {our} voice, {our} cry for mercy.” (Psalm 116.1)That he “demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)That his love for us is unconditional. That, in fact, “We love {him} because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:16)That “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103.12). He doesn’t hold grudges. He isn’t keeping track. The ugliest ugliness we can produce cannot “separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:39).And our future is secure.

But mostly, the good news is that God knows your name. God is not so far off that he doesn’t understand who we are, why we are and how we got here. The good news is that Jesus Christ, who being in his very nature God, did not consider equality with God as something to be grasped but instead humbled himself. Surrendered his divinity. Walked away from his privilege and walked with us. Suffered in every way you and I ever have. Suffered even more deeply than we ever could. Submitted himself unto death - even death on a cross! And all for what? To ransom many. To buy back his wayward sons and daughters. To save us from the sin that like a snare entangles each one of us. To invite us to share in his life and his love. To spare us from the wrath of God. To walk with us, to show us the way to life and more life.

And to tell us who we are! Who we truly are. Not who we feel like we are or who we hope we can become. But who we actually are, according to the One who made us: Loved. Beloved of God. Sons and daughters of the king.

And the good news goes on! This same God, this Rescuer, this Savior has commissioned us in his work. He has invited us into his mission of reconciliation. Of seeing every good and beautiful inch of his creation restored to its original splendor. Of driving back darkness, of casting out fear, of binding up brokenhearted, of setting captives free, of restoring sight to blind eyes, of declaring that God is good and God is near and that the world is being made right and that indeed it is good thing to be alive.

This is the gospel of Jesus Christ and it has changed our planet. It has fueled scientific discovery. It has toppled kingdoms. It has started revolutions. It has transformed millions and millions of lives. It has been the motivation for racial equality, care for the poor, compassion for the sick. It has also been woefully mishandled. It has been treated like a philosophy or a religious system. It has been used to justify crusades and witch hunts. It has also been found at the center of diverse and wonderful communities.

And yet in our country today, in the full witness of the world, it is at the risk of being forgotten. Perhaps its simplicity is being lost on the information age.

But as CS Lewis once observed, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance and, if true, is of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

So what of our current age? What are some of the cultural markers that have created a climate where the gospel can be considered good news for some, mildly interesting to some, and totally unimportant to others?